Hello World! Welcome Friends! If you are a homeowner or renter with a driveway, when snow and ice cover your walk-up, you risk your health and anyone walking up to your front door by not addressing it. While removing snow takes a lot of effort, it’s easier than tackling the ice underneath. Ice is heavy, sticks to the pavement, and can be extremely difficult to clear.
Here are some quick, easy ways to fix an icy driveway, ranging from time-tested strategies to new TikTok hacks.
Rock Salt
The most common method for removing ice from driveways is with rock salt. After the snow is shoveled away, evenly spread rock salt across the driveway. The moisture of the ice and the outdoors activates the salt, melting the ice.
The drawback is that rock salt contains many chemicals. These harm plants and animals and aren’t good for grass. Rock salt’s toxicity is why many people search for an alternative.
Liquid De-Icer
Liquid de-icer can be applied before, during, or after ice. It prevents ice from bonding to the pavement, so you won’t have to contend with hard-packed ice again.
Unlike solid de-icer, liquid de-icer dries to the surface when it is applied. It remains where it is and, believe it or not, works faster than rock salt and nearly every other icy driveway fix available.
Rubbing Alcohol
While this may be time-consuming for an entire driveway, for problem areas, use 70% isopropyl alcohol and spray the ice with it. Spray your entire area and wait 15-30 minutes for it to gently melt some ice.
You can remove the broken pieces with a shovel and complete your entire driveway.
Spread Sand
Sand gives you traction. It won’t melt ice but prevents slips and falls. If you only have sand, use sand. Never use kitty litter—clean or dirty—as it will cause a mess you’ll have to clean up later.
Sand’s rough texture will provide the traction you want. While some cleanup will be required, this is an eco-friendly way to tackle an icy driveway quickly.
Vinegar
Regular vinegar sprayed or poured over an icy driveway and allowed to sit may eat through what’s there in a half-hour or less.
Try this method in your driveway if you have no other means of clearing snow and don’t mind the vinegar smell. It is one of the more eco-friendly options and only requires time to work.
Tackle It with a Shovel
To speed up any icy driveway fix, you may need to use your shovel to break apart the ice as it melts. This will get it done.
Be sure to do this mid-afternoon when the sun is at its peak hotness. This gives you your best chance at breaking up ice solely with a shovel and moving it this way without overdoing it with a liquid de-icer, chemical product, or another method.
Heated Outdoor Mat
An electric outdoor mat won’t cover your entire driveway. However, it can be used in a high-risk area, such as outside your front door to melt ice and snow in that location. Many are made from heavy-duty, anti-slip material, plug in and run for as long as you want, and ensure that ice doesn’t accumulate in areas where a slip or fall is most likely.
Install a Radiant Heating System
If you want heated mats across your driveway, the easiest alternative is radiant heating. A system like this monitors precipitation, temperature, and moisture. It will activate when they need to, and it will clear away snow and ice in an ongoing effort. Radiant heating systems are typically installed beneath concrete or pavers.
Tarp Your Driveway
As silly as this may sound, some homeowners will legitimately lay down a tarp over their driveway the day before a major snowfall or storm.
After the storm, they clear away as much snow as possible with their shovel. They drag the trap over, flip it, and the ice that would have otherwise covered their driveway falls off.
Boiling Water
If you look on TikTok for icy driveway hacks, you will see people using boiling water. If this ice is thick, a large pot of near-boiling water will help melt it quickly. However, it can also freeze soon.
Be sure to apply it and sweep it off within minutes so it doesn’t bind to the ice already there and deteriorate your problem. Boiling water works for stubborn pieces of ice.
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